Vending machines are well known for vending articles such as canned soda. Many known prior art vending machines cost in the range $5,000 to $6,000 and include complicated and costly mechanisms for dispensing articles and for determining when a particular storage rack in the vending machine is empty.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art vending machines by providing a low-cost vending machine having a simple dispensing mechanism and means for sensing the absence of cans to be vended in the storage means and for locking the dispenser mechanism to prevent actuation thereof when there are no more cans to be vended in the can storage means.